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Lance Armstrong and Doping

During his first Tour de France victory, in 1999, Armstrong’s drug of choice, according to the sworn affidavits, was the blood-boosting hormone known as EPO. At that time, there was no test for EPO, which is a cloned form of human hormone rather than a synthetic product. <br /><br />But when rumors began circulating about the arrival of a test for EPO, Armstrong and some of his teammates switched to withdrawing and then reinfusing their own blood. Again, it was a technique initially without a test.<br /><br />Ferrari discovered that when regular, if small, doses of EPO were injected directly into veins rather than under the skin, Armstrong and others could continue using the hormone without fear of a positive test result, the report said.

Anyone still believe this guy? There are overwhelming evidence that proves that he was in fact taking banned substance, or at least he acted in a way to avoid getting detected. It also seems that he's been lawyered up to say that he's "never tested positive in over 500 tests" instead of simply just saying that he never took any banned substances (or banned at the time .... The killer is that his Cancer Charity now primarily just pumps money into promoting the Livestrong Brand, and only a small portion of it actually is spent towards Cancer Research.

Many did it, everyone knows many did it. At this point some honesty and self respect from a successful sports icon would probably go a long way. I think we all know that to be competitive in his era in such a demanding sport required every edge and training aid one could get. Most people could probably appreciate that fact. Sad that someone who accomplished so much is now choosing to give lawyered up responses and weasel worded answers.

I have tons of info on the matter. He is guilty as sin. There are 2 sides of the sword and NIETHER are right.

1. It was clear as day. If you didn't dope, you were not going to ride with the big boys. To win, being that everyone doped...EVERYONE; you still had to be good. Lance was the best during an "ERA" that was and now has been forever tainted. If you think the greats of Football, Baseball, Basketball, Hockey and Soccer weren't doping; you live under a F*%KING rock.
2. EPO is VERY VERY EASY, with the right doctor, to hide in any blood test. Passing drug tests, that were 10 years behind the drugs being administered into these athletes, were 100% UNDETECTABLE! Simply put, you have to monitor a gene code to find out how the blood is changing. In more depth, Lance may have only been taking out/putting back in, his own blood. For that, you need to look "plasticides," and that TEST is not yet legal because you can consume platicides on a daily basis; ie, plastic water bottles.
3. The other side of the story is he doped and he worked with banned doctors. Does anyone on hear truly think some of the top Pro surfers, I mean TOP, are not doping? Some of the TOP pro surfers have direct connections with the BOSS; aka, Lance. He wasn't busted because he doped; he was busted because he was the connection; he was the dealer; he was the ring leader; he called the shots.

It sucks. It's like losing a big brother. He is the reason I ride a bike and race triathlon.

***LIVESTRONG***

Get your facts straight:

1. They DO NOT/HAVE NOT provide any money to cancer research. They provide support to people with cancer and show them HOW to find the best treatment and how to separate the facts from the myths.

2. There is no denying that LIVESTRONG is easily the #1 reason that the word "CANCER" is no longer a dirty, scary, non-conversational word. And for that, people are beating the disease. LIVESTRONG does not, will not, and cannot find cures and treatments. They are a support program. They have billions of dollars.

They are not tax dollars and when you look into what that money does for people with cancer, we are all better off with livestrong then without. They are growing and some of their New Support programs are quite radical in their approach and I have never seen anything like it...EVER!

All of my Lance memorabilia is going into a bonfire this weekend. My Le'Tour De'France DVD's, 1999-2005, 2009-2012 that contain all super 7, wins; I put them on eBay yesterday. Lance reminds me that there are NO REAL HEROS LEFT in society. None that I can trust anyway.

My LIVESTRONG gear will stay on my back. They do well for people with the disease and they will continue to do so. NO ONE SHOULD condemn Lance for the role he plays as a cancer advocate. NO ONE. As an athlete he is and always will be a complete and utter fraud.

I see a problem with people who cheat even if 70% of them were cheating. What about the people who follow the rules. Carry your ideals and ethics from your personal life into your sport career. This obviously shows he's a douc he bag also in his personal life. Then he uses cancer as an excuse and to make money. What a horrible excuse for a human.

It's also funny how people measure success these days. Now go put on your gay helmet and ride your toy bike.

Much like baseball, it sounds like everyone was doping in order to keep pace.

Its easy to signal out the guy who was winning. When this first start happening in baseball (Canseco, etc), it snow balled and we come to find out so many guys were on the juice...

This right here. The cyclists all justify it, much like MLB players, by claiming they need to do it in order to have a chance at amplifying their abilities to compete against those that o use PEDs. They say the Tour de France and cycling in general has become a competition to beat modern doping tests as much as it is a race to the finish line.

One thing everyone seems to be overlooking is the overreach by the Doping Committee.

They can retroactively charge people with doping if they were using a substance that was legal at the time but later became banned. What if they decide tylenol should be banned at some point? There is absolutely no justice in this.

Everyone was doping during that era, Lance was singled out. They take his titles, they might as well take everyone else's too.